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Man, it’s been a while since I last posted anything crafty around here! Sorry about that – February offered up a very generous share of challenges, and I’ve been scrambling a lot. (Thanks, February – now get outta here!)
But, I’ve also been learning to knit. I had huge help from this ebook by Tara, and also from an online class in Combination Knitting from Annie Modesitt. Now, I’m just practicing. At the end of every workday, I curl up with some Cash Cab and my wonky swatch du jour.
(That way, I can shout answers at the TV and feel intellectually superior as I screw up yet another row.) :-)
And I’ve been enjoying some crafty goodness from kind blog-friends! Sarah sent me this gorgeous dove ornament, and this altered T-shirt bag.
(Here’s me being a complete doofus: I immediately emailed her and thanked her for the altered tee, and told her how much I was looking forward to wearing it. She emailed back, “Um… did I forget to sew the bottom closed, then?” Nope – I just have limited powers of observation!)
Su sent me her latest wonderful zine – and I had to share with you the amazing custom envelope she shipped it in. Look at all her indicia, and that background pattern! She makes me want to give it all up and make zines forever.
The zine is latest issue of Telaic Fantasy. I blogged about this project a while back. It’s full of weaving stories and how-to’s. It even has an interview with me about Weaving Un-Loomed.
I am totally making one of these little woven Oddballs.
During the first Craft Social, Jennie made a very generous offer to send some of her mail art to people. So of course I signed right up. She sent this beautiful collaged postcard. Wondering what the significance of January 17th is?
It was Art’s Birthday! I hope you sent a card or something. (Do check out Jennie’s awesome blog, by the way.)
And Joanie surprised me with a box of lovelies! I remembered just in the nick of time to take a picture of her beautiful wrapping.
Can you imagine the clapping and giggling that went on as I was unwrapping all these buttons?!
And I couldn’t resist showing you a closer view of this beautiful heart, which is made of hand-stitched hexagons. Joanie’s embroidery is so impossibly perfect. Swoon.
…Oh – and, I’m working on some crafty tutorials for you over here. Honest.
I got one of Jen's amazing postcards, too! Loved it! And I can't get over that sweet hexagon ornament. I'm completely obsessed with handsewn paper pieced hexes. They're addictive.
Man, I've been wanting to get into English paper piecing for so long
now… Too many intriguing crafts in this world. An excellent problem
to have. :-)
Ooooooh, such goodies! Mmmmm, Buttons! Yay!
I love the colors of the yarn in your knitting! Looks very pretty.
We love 'winning' money on Cash Cab too!
Hi, my name is Geneviève and I really enjoyed your po. . . BUTTONS!
Congrats on learning to knit! It looks like you're twisting your stitches on the top piece though.
What an awesome supply of buttons. My growing button stash is jealous.
Heh – …and someone just emailed me about the twisted stitches thing,
too.
I'm afraid I have no idea what you mean. Back to those tutorial videos
with me, then….
Make sure you’re wrapping the yarn counter clockwise around the needle. That should make the stitches sit correctly.
Heh! :-)
I can’t believe you just learned, your stitches look fabulous!
buttons! :D lots of gorgeous buttons
your knitting looks good :) I've tried knitting dozens of times, just can't seem to get the knack of it
Thank you! Apparently, I am twisting stitches. Or, if the glass is
half full, inventing a new kind of knitting. :-)
Unfortunately, this style only knits trapezoids. :-)
I love the colorway of your yarn. It reminds me of my first shipment of Rockin' Sock Club yarn a couple of years ago. I'm trying to figure out how you're twisting your stitches on some rows and not others (at least that's what it looks like to me).
So much good stuff in this post! I love all of it. I received one of Jennie's postcards, too. It sits right next to my spot in the living room, propped up against the basket that holds my current project. YAY for all the creative people who have come into my life via blogs and Twitter!
Yay, indeed! :-)
Beautiful swatching, Diane! I have been meaning to try Combination Knitting for some time. Goodness knows there is enough yarn in my stash to practice.
I am sooooo glad to see that you have come over to the “knitting side”! Your swatches are beautiful!
Now – what are you going to make me!
Don't you just love Joanie's wrapping? Brilliant! Put them back together and save them.
Aw, thanks, Laura! You have made my afternoon!
Put them back together?! But I want the buttons and the pretty blue
twine to craft with!
…And I will make you all the swatches you want. It's all I know how
to make right now. :-)
Thank you, Rachel! I just have to figure out this mysterious twisted
thing now…
(Oh, and these swatches are, believe me, carefully selected from a
quite-mutant pile.) :-)
Wait… counter-clockwise for the purl stitch, too? I thought that one
was clockwise. Arrrgh.
Ha, glad someone else spotted that, I was just about to tell you.
Heh – the great thing about knitting is, if you do something wrong,
there are many, many, many, many people available to point it out. :-)
Diane, I'm so glad the postman has been bringing you joy, you deserve it! I'll virtually have a cup of tea with you this afternoon. Hope the lavender heart didn't taint the taste of your tea.
BTW – I'm in the tiny club of non-knitters too. I did it as a child but now my mind seems to muddled to keep track of the instruction. A fellow art-teacher friend recently tried to teach me, the lesson gave her a good laugh; apparently I do too much multi-tasking to knit properly :)
Ha! Maybe multi-tasking is my problem, then! :-)
I have always wanted to crotchet (I do not know how to knit) a Stag horn fern and mount it on the wall. Matti
Wow, how cool is that project! Love it!
Wait a second. I just got a book and the instructions all say “counterclockwise” but when you see how the yarn is wrapped, it looks clockwise to me. Meaning, if you look at the needle like it is just a circle (like you're going to poke yourself in the eye), the yarn is getting wrapped clockwise. Oops. Nevermind. I just looked at the diagrams again and it *is* counterclockwise. … knitting is making my brain hurt … in a good way
Love that yarn! I just got my first taste of knitting on Thursday. It had been about 32 years since I've knit. When I realized that, I felt so darn old. :) Your stockinette looks pretty fly to me!
Ow! Owwwwwwww! :-) It's all so non-clear… don't even get me started on “front leg” and “back leg.”
Diane, there is no possible way in the history of life to say how much fabulosity is in this post!
Heh – in the history of life?! I don't know – I hope so! :-)
Heh – in the history of life?! I don't know – I hope so! :-)